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The Concept of Yokai and Religious Influences
Some of the philosophies and concepts from these religions helped forge the base principles on how early yokai came to existance. Several of the yokai that have been brought over from religions such as: Buddhism, Shinto, Shugendo, and Taoism. The Concept of Yokai The term yokai means strange or eerie, which has only been implemented since the Meiji era by a scholar, Inoue Enryou, to describe the supernatural occurrances. There were other terms that were used before the Meiji era such as bakemono and henge in the Edo time period, and in Heian period, where the concept originated, mononoke was used. The main overarching idea of "yokai is the transmutability of all beings." How one form can become another such as a human becoming a demon or an evil spirit becoming a heavenly being. The main aspect that allows this ability is the concept of ki (ke in other readings), or energy. The older term mononoke reflects the definition of this. Back in the Heian period, yokai were referred to as mononoke; mono meaning all things, no meaning of, and ke another word for ki, which roughly means the life energy of all things or the essence of all beings. The people believed that the supernatural phenomena were caused by mononoke, untamed energy(chi/ki), which was constantly changing because of its transmutability, which in turn can possibly create new yokai. The term pertained to the supernatural energy that was believed as dangerous because of its power and the mystery that shrouded around it. This energy was believed as what allowed anything to transform into a new yokai. During the Heian period, if people encountered these phenomena or apparitions, they believed that if they knew the name of the apparition and said it, that the mononoke would lose power and vanish . This led to the early birth of yokai with their names, traits, and lore. Zília. Anime and Its Roots in Early Japanese Monster Art. Leiden: BRILL, 2010, 8-11 Within these characteristics the Japanese attached to their creation of characters, there's an attachment of personality. As these yokai are mental images of people, they were naturally given human-like personalities and emotions. In following the Shinto belief of Yaoyorozu no Kami (eight million deities) where these deities also have human personalities and yet at the same time there isn't a distinction between good and evil. The same follow for yokai. [Kazuhiko Komatsu, “Yokai and the Japanese Mind’s Eye,” Highlighting Japan, March 2009, 26-28] Religious Influence Some of the yokai that are featured in some of the modern day anime, manga and games come from religious sources. Buddhism Raiden or Raijin, is not actually a yokai, but a thunder god from Buddhist mythology. The iconography that is associated with it is normally a set of drums that it uses to generate electricity. Zília. 100 Hinduism Yasha are generally mountain dwelling evil demon spirits that cause trouble for travelers in the mountains. The name comes derived from the nature spirits, yaksa or yakka which appear in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. ibid Shinto Yamatano Orochi, is an eight-headed giant snake from Shinto mythology that is a villainous yokai in its lore, where it gets slain by Susano. 102 Shinto-Buddhist Ushi-Oni, is a bull-headed demon that is similar to The Gozuki from Buddhist mythology who is one of the demon leaders of the Buddhist hell. Garura or Garuda, is yokai with a beaked face, human body, and wings similar to the deity of Hinduism and Buddhism, however it is more related to Shinto due to the fact the garmets are Shintoist. ibid Taoism Houkou are tree spirits with human faces an teh body of a black dog. They came from early recordings from court historian Gan Bao in the collection Sou Shen Ji. This was later found in the Wakan Sansai Zue, one of the early 'encyclopedias' of the Edo period. 100-102